FlightTracker

I know this is probably kind of obvious but I dont understand the difference between booking a double vs a twin room. I'm looking on some Paris hotel websites and it says they have both types of rooms. It seems like the double would have one big bed and the twin would have two twin beds but is this always the case? Who would want one twin bed?

Thanks.....

Strawb

Did you want a twin or a double? A double room will have 1 bed, either a double, queen or king-size bed depending on the property. A twin room will have 2 beds, usually single beds in smaller hotels but double beds (usually queen-size) in larger, more upscale hotels. A single room will often be either a double or a twin, but again, at smaller hotels, a single bed.

FlightTracker

Thanks for the help. I am looking for one room with 2 beds. The size of the beds doesn't matter so I guess I would just look for a twin room.

zaccaggie

There are PLENTY of rooms in Europe that have one twin bed only. I agree that the hotel web sites can do a better job of explaining how many beds are in the room, but lots of sites bring up rooms with only one bed for one person. and that one bed is often a twin bed. make sure and be specific about how many you are putting in the room. generally when you say you have two people, it books you into a twin room, and that means 2 twin beds. otherwise it would say "single room"

On a related note for you (and discussed here often), many hotel rooms in europe with the big chains (hyatt, marriott, etc) you can only put two people in a room. Many times than not, if there are two beds in the room, they are twin or double beds, not queen size beds. Something to think about when traveling with kids. Many hotel chains make you get two rooms.

Hong

Good question. When I went to Rome in January, I reserved a room online with a double bed. I got two twins. When I complained, the manager said they used the words interchangeably. I protested persistenly and got a transfer to another hotel of the same chain. The room had what I thought was a double was actually two twins put together. Couldn't sleep in middle of the bed. My advice: email the hotel directly and tell them EXACTLY what you need. And print out their response and take it with you.

zaccaggie

....and be prepared for them not to have EXACTLY what you want. in over two years in europe, and mucho traveling, i can count on one hand the number of times i've seen a 'real' king, instead of two twin beds put together and sold as a 'king'. the concept of a 'king bed' does not really exist in europe. europeans don't understand why americans need such a big bed.
and yes, i've pulled up the sheets to check it out. just education for me.

Aviatrix

This is really all about different countries' sleeping habits in general... rather than just about hotel rooms.

In some countries (such as the USA and the UK) people consider it normal to share (large) beds.

In other countries (such as Germany) they don't.

So... you get problems both ways... Americans who are horrified to find their bed has two mattresses, and Germans who are horrified to find they are having to share a duvet with their partner.